Recreating the smell of rain (Petrichor) with geosmin

[@michaelcorbridge1607]

If I could give an award for the greatest ever informative video ever made, I would award it to this amazing video. I cannot thank you enough.

[@Kalembastudioart]

Not sure where to post this, however I think it is an interesting observation by myself. I noticed that a 50% blend of Jasmine and cedar smells similar to freshly cut grass! So, after watching this amazing video I realized that in the formula you gave today, if you added Jasmine and Cedar, even in a minute amount this may help with the smell of what this video explains! I could be wrong though. If you try a couple of drops of each cedar and jasmine, you will understand where my thought process comes from!

[@sammacer]

Oh cool! Guessing it’s jasmine sambac since that’s quite green to me. I imagine adding those would make it smell like a rain next to jasmine flowers in a cedar forest. Have you smelled cis-3-hexenol? I wonder how your accord compares to that since it’s the canonical cut grass smell.

[@Kalembastudioart]

@@sammacer Never tried cis-3-hexenol but will look into it!

[@waqarghulam3548]

You are correct. But the smell of rain on dry parched earth is not the same as fresh cut hay. Mitti atar that Sam talked about is a beautiful top note for creating fresh scents

[@simonstergaard]

Its the taste of catfish...muddy when eaten. As an organic chemist i really like that you do a deep dive. I think there is an article that found that geosmin is made by a specific type of bacteria when it is dry, and that geosmin prevent seeds to sprout, which is quite useful, as you dont want to sprout when it dry... nature i epic.

[@sammacer]

That’s really cool, shame that I missed it!

[@justaddlight]

Very interesting about the fractal dynamics of raindrops hitting a surface. It's one of the reasons I love walking in a cool forest hours after a thunderstorm. The residual water falling off of the foliage after having absorbed many of the surface particles creates a wonderful stratified bubble all the way up to the canopy. 🌳 A fabulous vid Sam. Too right about those strong sulphurs. Really gotta dilute those down.

[@sammacer]

Thank you!

[@jori7398]

Morning Sam! 20:36 really appreciated your thoughtful insight that the addition of patchouli would make the fragrance specific to a certain region. Awesomeness! 🌧️ 🩵 💙

[@russellmoxham5625]

Fascinating, thank you. I'm no perfumer and don't have any real technical grasp of how different woody aromatics play off against one another or whatever, but I'd be tempted to try combining this with Evernyl and/or something akin to dirty vetiver. That cedar idea also sounds appealing, partly for some of the same reasons as patchouli (whether it would actually work or not). One of my all-time favourite designer fragrances is the discontinued Bvlgari PH Soir. It probably smells quite synthetic and strident but it takes quite a minimalist approach, with just a few notes/accords listed. There's just tea, papyrus, musk and amber, I think. The tea is very green and ozonic. (I usually find tea notes and violet leaf notes quite similar.) The papyrus is very much like a dark, damp, earthy vetiver, with definite musty library vibes. To my nose, the overall effect is quite reminiscent of petrichor, although the amber in particular points in another direction. I've yet to get my hands on another fragrance that gives me such an instant hit of rainy dirt or dirty rain. I am working on it. I suspect that that hallowed grey Narciso Rodriguez fragrance would have delighted me. Next stop, Peau d'Ailleurs.

[@NatureNotesByKaki]

Wow, Sam - I was absolutely mesmerized by this video!!! I randomly (and very fortunately!) stumbled across it when I was just generally looking into petrichor. Thank you so much for this incredibly informative and intriguing experience!

[@sammacer]

Thank you, im glad you found it interesting :)

[@tomask9588]

Sam's videos are great in general, but this particular one is so good I have to write a comment. Thank you, sir. I've been a perfumery lurker for months, but your vids motivate me to take the scentless theory into the fragrant practice.

[@sammacer]

Fantastic to hear, good luck with your perfumery, let me know how it goes 😊

[@siyaneliswashozi6384]

This is brilliant I have always wanted to see if you can recreate the smell of rain. I think you could possibly add a mossy/oakmoss nature to the accord and see how it does? Anyway brilliant idea

[@sammacer]

Thank you! And yes, that sounds like a good Avenue for exploration

[@77colorz23]

Thank you for making these real vidz 💯👍

[@superodfx]

I love the smell of rain hiking here in an Australian eucalyptus bush forest, perhaps closer to the terpene high accord you chanced

[@sammacer]

The sounds lovely - you could add some eucalyptus essential oil to the accord and probably get that effect :)

[@fishbrownconnect7927]

Sandalwood, patchouli, myrrh, German chamomile, violet leaf, rose, carrot seed, dilute the essential oils in watermelon carrier oil.

[@Thuja814]

Great video! I’m working on a rain-y fragrance, myself, rather than a rain accord. I imagine walking next to Lake Ontario, downtown Toronto, while it’s still misting after a heavy rain… For a real niche frag, one might include car exhaust and the overflow ducts of a sewage treatment plant. Clearwood & patchoulol are helpful substitutes for patchouli here. In addition to Floralozone (which I do not have), Helional and Cascalone are interesting. I don’t like the cis-3-hexenol either, it ruined a trial, but seaweed absolute is fabulous and I’m eyeing the galbanum resin. Your mention of myrcene, pinene & terpineol lead me to the lovely wild juniper berry oil (thank you!) while acknowledging the cypresses & pine. Cedrat coeur made an appearance, and it smells like the clouds might part. Also considering amyl salicylate, a metallic watery clover? Mandarin petitgrain?! Orris butter? B-caryophyllene? 🤷

[@Thuja814]

Humus ether?!? 😛

[@curioclassicperfumeguide]

I am not a perfumer, I am a perfume lover just like you. I was very curious about the fragrances and being watched videos, read books and articles , Indian and Western. Now I am sharing videos of fragrances formulation .

[@abbasalikhan]

Thanks for this video Sam. I do have attar e mitti like you mentioned in the video and it does smell alot like the wet soil after rain however this attar is very mild overall. beautiful but mild

[@sammacer]

That’s good to know. I guess that’s a good thing since the real smell of rain is also very mild

[@abbasalikhan]

@@sammacer Indeed, however i was looking at making something for candles and in that sense it wasnt working. Ill surely try your blend.

[@sammacer]

Yep go for it; mine includes the unpleasant side though too so you should look to modify it for your composition

[@abbasalikhan]

@@sammacer ill surely try it and let you know how it turned out

[@ceruleanedict]

Stumbled across your video via the algorithm, and just had to note your copy of Clayden on your shelf behind you - excellent choice :) Its my favourite textbook, and carried me through undergradute chemistry. Great video too :)

[@sammacer]

Thank you! Yes it’s my favourite chemistry textbook too, I think it’s the best written

[@JesusisLord7770]

I have been searching so long for a fragrance that smells like rain!!

[@hoticesteve]

Mitti is distilled not from any mud its only from a particular area in Kanouj in India, and comes at a price. Its got to do with the local micro bacteria in the eatrh over there.

[@jrosin12]

Hey Sam, did you use the dimethyl sulfide at 1%?

[@minakshinarkhede2058]

Well smell of the rain to recreate it from your method is good and actually brilliant but in india, perfumers recreate it in a long step and it is brilliant price like 135 dollars or so... But love your method too❤

[@photographedemode]

Thank you for your Channel, keep up the good work, you manage to answer all of my questions

[@sammacer]

Thank you!

[@sgargabonzo]

I made a rainy accord using: basil, calone, vetiver, patchouli, cedar wood and mousse de metre. It s very good

[@sammacer]

Lovely

[@mckmckkrat]

can you give me the formula?

[@juandelacruzfraganciadelac1224]

This is so awesome to know thank you so much for this

[@sammacer]

Thank you!

[@JamieBarnes11]

Great video. I've actually just started working on a damp earth accord myself so there's a bit of crossover here for sure. Have you ever tried Earthy Pyrazine at all? Ive been mixing that with Geosmin and Terrasol and I think it's great for that damp earth feeling. What i will say though is that it's really insanely stong. Like, combined geosmin at 1% dilution, terrasol at 1% dilution and Earthy Pyrazine at 0.1% dilution in equal proportions it still basically makes the accord smell entirely like potatoes. It's really that strong. So you need really the tiniest trace of it. Also just talking terpenes in general: have you tried Vetiver Terpenes? I just got some recently and it seems like it could be a pretty useful matieral for a number of things.

[@sammacer]

I tried earthy pyrazine when planning the accord but in my eyes it didn’t fit. I don’t have vetiver terpenes!

[@hesham1216]

Thank you for the punch of information you are giving us for free... My watch later list is full of your videos... Can I ask you on your website there is only one perfume (vanilla wood), why only one?

[@sammacer]

No problem, it’s good that people have access to information. Yes, I used to have two others, but I don’t like them anymore. I really spend a long time trying to perfect my perfumes and I’m also very busy so it’s not very often that I get to release one. I’m releasing a new one in a couple of weeks and working on a few more for next year!

[@hesham1216]

Wish you the best of luck @@sammacer

[@oxdogoxSF]

Haha Rain with a side of ham! I'm loving your videos BTW. Great pace and detail... Thanks

[@drossonero7595]

Very informative video! Would you share where do you get those volatile components research papers from?

[@CraigersPvtchef]

Amazing video!!!!

[@Peem_pom]

I actually do have access to it, here in India so I'm going to check that out!

[@sammacer]

👌

[@deanboman]

Are you planning to use this accord in one of your perfumes? I would really like to buy and try something like that.

[@sammacer]

No plans so far but someone else asked too... Maybe I couldn't make a reed diffuser or some other product.

[@grimetone]

Very impressive. I've been searching for over a decade for a fragrance that smells like fresh rain on concrete and none has hit right so far.

[@sammacer]

Hopefully this one works for you

[@Reign_Of_Is_REAL]

I created my first base (5 ingredients 4 trials) for my BF and it smells so great idk how I’ll add anything else to it. 🤷🏽‍♀️😅😳😳😳

[@sammacer]

Fantastic

[@shobarbaba]

HI HEY IM DOING THE SAME THING FOR MY BF COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU USED

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

Is the Patchouli from the Patchouli plant or did you get a synthesized molecule? Are chemists already synthesizing all natural essences? I noticed that strawberry synthetic molecules actually have the same skin healing effects.

[@sammacer]

No the patchouli is natural, many naturals are used in perfumery alongside synthetics

[@nickidaisydandelion4044]

@@sammacer I love Patchouli.

[@eestiny9734]

Petrichor straight up smells like by the river rocks nothing like rain on my nose (tried to have it grow on me cause i love rain, but style can't). And the smell isn't that pleasant. The smell of rain depends also on the geography (rain is a bouquet of both from the air and anything on the ground , and the nature of the surface the rain is falling on! Have been disappointed by countless fragrances that tried to capture rain, petrichor or not... same with fragrance that "smells" like the sea.

[@chrisjensen9721]

Desert rain is sumptuous, especially in Arizona and New Mexico. The smells are stronger if it's been really hot

[@chrisjensen9721]

Wish I could buy the third accord

[@sammacer]

I will try to offer it for sale in the near future

[@ms.s.vincent]

I'm a newbie and I only recently discovered your channel, so I could be completely wrong, but after smelling Molecule 05 from Escentric Molecules (cashmeran) I feel like it would be a great ingredient for recreating this elusive scent. To me it smells a bit of dirt/concrete with a bit of greenness somewhere. If you ever try it let us know :D

[@sammacer]

Yes I completely agree cashmeran smells earthy - but not as much as the molecules here. If you wanted to make the accord less realistic and more perfumey then I would definetly consider cashmeran

[@ms.s.vincent]

@@sammacer thank you for your response! I’m chasing this petrichor scent so badly I might try your formula one day☺️

[@multiz0rak]

iirc christopher brosius of i hate perfume did something along these lines a while ago, and it was quite camforous. so maybe it's an option to try pure camphor instead of patchouli. also it's strange that cashmeran wasn't even mentioned, i would think it's a natural candidate for an earthy-rainy smell. also it would be fun to play with eucalyptus/mint kind of materials that have the trigeminal cooling effect on the nose

[@sammacer]

I did think about cashmeran, camphor and mint. I find cashmeran not as earthy as pure geosmin or even something like terranol. Camphor seemed like it wouldn’t be present in most rain and the same with mint. Certainly logical avenues of exploration though!

[@multiz0rak]

@@sammacer regarding camphor and mint: i guess in the end it depends on the level of abstraction you're aiming at. whether it's a photorealistic headspace sort of smell of wet soil or an artistic evocation of rain in a perfume. obviously in the latter case you have an artistic license to use whichever material you want :)

[@sammacer]

@@multiz0rak Yep - in this case I was aiming at the more photorealistic side of things :)

[@Vetiver386]

OMG I NEED that accord! Maybe you will begin shipping to the US one day 😢

[@sammacer]

You should be able to find the ingredients on Perfumer’s Apprentice

[@Vetiver386]

Thanks,@@sammacer. I called and yes, they have them!

[@riccardotodde5817]

Hello Sam! Great video, may i ask you why you decided to work with your materials pre-diluted to 1% instead of the classic 10%?

[@sammacer]

Thanks! In this case most of the raw materials are very strong and so 10% is completely overwhelming. For the terpenes, they are meant to be in the background, not the core smell, which is why they are low.

[@riccardotodde5817]

@@sammacer thank you Sam!

[@Con3maS]

Do you know the Katafray essential oil? It smells like "before rain" for me

[@sammacer]

Never heard of it! But that’s very intriguing

[@loveamber7285]

Dear Sam, do you give lessons in perfume design I would like to learn from you

[@sammacer]

I offer private tuition - email me at [e-mail] for more info

[@fartsonbasketball9206]

How much would you charge for a bottle of oil of your third rendition? The one that smells like rain on slate

[@milanaviskin1296]

How can I buy it??? Out of UK. It is very important

[@theresalawrence156]

Violet leaf or fir always makes me think of rain.

[@sammacer]

Very interesting! Maybe it’s because green and forest smells are emphasised in the rain

[@sebastiang071]

Great video as always Sam :) that geosmin sure packs a punch haha smells like moldy crawlspaces at high amounts huh 😂🤝

[@sammacer]

Yep haha 😂

[@ignisignisandrek]

I am a perfumer. And I want to make real smell of a fresh cucumber with violet. But no violeaf, nor cucumber absolute itself, doesn't give the smell I want

[@Suciu_Andrei_Lucian]

You can create a violet acord by using alpha and beta ionones Calone has a seabrease or melon smell, so that can be used to create a cucumber smell

[@chrisberg4952]

ZENITH, E X C E LL E N T!

[@nenee009]

Noooo, why only UK shipping :'(

[@sammacer]

Flammable goods are very difficult to ship internationally

[@stories_unsaid_by_kshitij]

Hi Sam, Where can I find Geosmin and other ingredients in Europe (France)? I cant seem to find Geosmin! Thanks for your help! :)

[@nuguns3766]

pell well, i cannot post links so my other comment turned invisible. Idk if thats available in france though, hope so

[@mastermaly1]

how about adoxal??

[@sammacer]

Nice idea - I have a sample but haven’t diluted it yet. I imagine it would fit

[@mastermaly1]

@@sammaceralso ozone, but dirtier than Floralzone. I think it would fit very well,I was curious about your opinion.Thanks for the answer

[@saidalcapone3964]

Where do you buy the oil for geosmin?

[@sammacer]

Mine was from Pell Wall but many places stock it

[@plants5743]

I’ve noticed that clove smells a bit like rain

[@lordstarck2982]

Hello, Sam and thanks for this video! Can you please help me to find library of raw materials and there explaining? Thank you in advance!!!

[@sammacer]

Check out my video on beginners raw materials!

[@lordstarck2982]

@@sammacer I already watched it and after that i buy one of the books but there is no this kind like dictionary witch material what aroma or filling explained

[@zacharymar8543]

what app do you use to organise the measurements of all the ingredients i’d love to know cause it would definetly be an upgrade from my notebook

[@sammacer]

It's my app Formulair: formulair.app/

[@Dim_the_Athenian]

What's the point of making that app for Mac only?

[@sammacer]

It works on iPad and iPhone too

[@chrisosborne9254]

What are your thoughts on using 2 ethyl fenchol to add the 'muddy' notes?

[@sammacer]

Nice idea - I’ve heard of fenchols having mushroom type notes which I think could work well. I don’t have any though since it’s a little more obscure

[@srgttamtam]

I wonder, what would terranol do to that accord?

[@sammacer]

I looked at terranol for this video but didn’t have time to cover it. In my opinion it’s like “geosmin made more elegant for perfumery” - so maybe in a real perfume switching geosmin for terranol would be a good modification

[@srgttamtam]

@@sammacer Right. Actually, I had interesting results, combining terranol and geosmin in a 6:1 ratio. Give that a go, if you obtain some geosmin. Might also be interesting to play around with some Musks, especially the animalic ones like f.e. exaltone or exaltolide. That doesn't necessarily make it smell like rain, but it kind of adds to the ground part of the accord.

[@sammacer]

@@srgttamtam I think those would go great when bending it towards a perfume rather than just a more photorealistic impression

[@srgttamtam]

@@sammacer oh ya, for sure.

[@rohitgangal393]

hi i am from india sir are you commercial selling perfume fragrance ? bcz i just want to start perfume seliing business but i could not get real perfume fregrance , would you like to sell ?

[@HowlingHeartsong]

Could you sell that third version?

[@sammacer]

I would prefer you don’t try to sell my formulas! It’s not really suitable as a full perfume, more a building block.

[@sammacer]

I would prefer you don’t try to sell my formulas! It’s not really suitable as a full perfume, more a building block.

[@aroma_discovery]

Nice video! Thank you so much!

[@clayboneous8]

Would you ever sell that petrichor accord?

[@sammacer]

I could do - sent me and email at [e-mail] explaining a bit more about how much you would like, your use case etc so I can understand what that product would look like

[@emilysha418]

​@@sammacer I'm also interested, I would like to use it in an indoor garden room, using a candle warmer or ultrasonic diffuser on a timer to make it smell like morning rain.

[@takky4774]

Take the mic sensitivity down a bit. Its noisey

[@superaak]

Wonderful

[@tuffymartinez]

THANK YOU SAM MACER !!!!! What did you think of the movie "PERFUME, The Story Of A Murderer" ?? TM

[@sammacer]

You mean the book or the film? I read the book, thought it was quite interesting

[@tuffymartinez]

@@sammacer Please seriously consider watching the film... Again I very much appreciate your serious mature attitude, clear thinking performance/explanations. Very well done and I look forward to MORE.... TM

[@Ballu12345]

I just keep mixing any Attars and come up with Disaster

[@olehbabiy9254]

thats really cool

[@sammacer]

Thanks!

[@hamadsarhan9097]

If u loved to I can send u my formela

[@hypr.co1]

What do u dilute all of that chemical with bro?